What Is Affiliate Marketing — A Quick Breakdown

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based digital marketing, where creators (affiliates) earn commissions by promoting another company’s products or services. Affiliates typically use unique links that track sales or sign-ups. When someone makes a purchase through one of these links, the affiliate receives compensation.

Here’s how the ecosystem works:

• Sellers (merchants) offer the products or services.

• Affiliates promote them using blogs, videos, social platforms, or email.

• Consumers click the affiliate links and make purchases. This model is growing rapidly, recent data shows that more than 80% of brands now run affiliate programs as part of their marketing strategy.

Why It Matters for Creators Like You

With its low startup costs and strong performance tracking, affiliate marketing offers creators an efficient way to monetize content. The fact that most brands now invest in affiliate programs makes it easier than ever to find relevant opportunities. This structure allows influencers, especially YouTubers, to convert their audience engagement into sustainable income, without inventory or product development.